My Savior (Levi Short Story) - LONG CHAPTERS
by LivelyRiver
Summary: A young girl lived in the Underground City for all her life, always starving and searching for scraps. One day, she tried to steal some food, not knowing she was stealing from a noble that was visiting. Immediately, she was captured and forced into slavery. Now, she and other slaves have been sold to the Military as "servants". Her first day, she was to clean Levi's room
1. Chapter 1 - Rescue

Laughter echoed in the mess hall as the older officers spilled their alcohol as they drank and young women quickly ran to clean up the mess. Expectedly, the older men made crude remarks at the women when they knelt down. In other parts of the room, there were men cleaning up the tables and glaring at the officers, but they did nothing. Nearby you could hear the younger cadets murmur in disapproval

"It feels so strange to have people clean for us after we'd been taught to do all that ourselves back in training"

"Yeah I think so too… I feel especially bad for the girls, they have to put up with those old drunkards"

"I heard they're celebrating because they got promoted to work in the Military Police force now" a unanimous sigh could be heard from the gossiping group

"Like they need another reason to get drunk in the middle of the day"

Turning away, Levi placed his finished plates on the counter with the other used dishes. As he turned to walk away, some cadets stood aside and saluted him while he passed. Levi paid no attention to them as he made his way down the hall towards his room. While it was indeed more lively at the base, it really was a mystery as to how so many civilians were hired to work as servants for the military.

Men and women ranging from young adults to middle ages bustled around, carrying blankets and buckets of water, making the Captain wonder if they really intended to clean rooms despite being so unprepared.

As usual, Levi headed towards his room only to find that it was unlocked. Irked, he opened the door to find a young woman fixing her headdress with one hand, and another on her cleaning supplies.

"What is this" Levi demanded, annoyance clear in his voice

"O-oh! Good afternoon sir. I just finished cleaning your quarters and I-"

"Tch, is that supposed to be some sort of joke? You call this clean?" He walked over to his desk and knelt down, running his hand along the underside of it and feeling dust mites collect on his fingertips. "This is a disgrace... " He muttered loud enough for the young woman to hear.

He turned his head to look at the woman over his shoulder to see her with a strange expression on her face. It seemed to be a mix of shock and… relief? Whatever, it didn't matter to him.

"Leave those supplies here. I'll-"

"I'll be happy to clean the room again for you sir! Please forgive my incompetence. I'll redo the whole procedure to your liking no matter how long it takes!"

Before Levi could even protest, the young woman immediately grabbed hold of the bucket and rag and nearly sprinted to the window, happy to clean them again. Her demeanor was incredibly strange. She was all too eager to stay longer. And while she was cleaning again, she was doing it rather slow.

"What's your goal? Why stay longer?" He questioned her.

The girl looked at Levi as if surprised he was still there. "My goal? Um… just to make sure everything is to your standards sir!"

"Don't you have other rooms to clean?"

"No, your room is actually last on my list" The girl refused to face Levi while she spoke but was loud and clear enough for him to hear her across the room.

"...Fine but if you're late then that's your own problem" He waved his hand dismissively as he grabbed the chair by his desk and pulled it beside his bed to sit

"Of course! Um… are you just going to wait there?" The girl finally paused in her duties long enough to look at Levi, as if his being there was making her nervous.

"I don't have any other business to attend to today, and while I'd much rather be relaxing in the privacy of my own room, I suppose this time is better spent making sure a newbie is capable of cleaning properly instead of half-assing things and running away"

With nothing else to say, and with that girl blocking the window, Levi sat back in his chair and crossed his legs. Making sure that it was out of her view, he pulled out his pocket knife and began twiddling it between his fingers while he lost himself in this thoughts.

* * *

"All done Captain!" The girl announced as she threw the rag in the bucket.

She scurried to the other end of the room as Levi got up and began his daily inspection. Tables were clean from the top to the bottom of the legs, as was the chair. The lamp was properly polished and with new oil in its reserves. His bed was well made with no wrinkle in sight and even the pillow was properly fluffed.

"Hm. It's an improvement over the last few weeks I suppose" Levi said as he noticed the floors could still use an extra buffing.

The girl nodded her head in understanding as he waved his hand in dismissal. Levi went back to his seat and turned his head towards the window, but watched the girl from the corner of his eyes. Everyday for almost a month she would come and clean his room as the sunset, and everytime she would miss something.

Forgetting to clean behind the door, or sweep underneath the bed, or to open the windows and clean the underside of the pane.

But everytime she was happy to fix her mistakes, but she didn't stop there. She would re-clean the entire room seemingly at a leisurely pace. There would be some times where Levi had to leave the room to attend to other matters and she would still be there when he returned. Everyday she would announce when she finished for Levi to come and "grade" her work. Regardless of his answer, she would accept it and get her supplies ready to leave. And when she did, she wore the most anxious and tired look on her face.

It was a curious matter, but not interesting enough for Levi to poke and prod her for answers. She did her job, and she was quiet unless spoken to. No reason to go digging.

That evening, a meeting was scheduled for an exhibition outside the walls again. This time with more newbies and in a less populated but more dangerous area. Levi would have to attend to assure the safety of the others.

As he returned from the meeting, he heard shouting and clattering coming from the mess hall. Irritated someone would be trying to steal food when supplies were so low, he went to investigate only to find no one present, but the shouting even louder. As he searched the area, he found a hidden door in the floor of the kitchen. Underneath was a staircase that led to the storage room for vegetables, however at the moment there was something else there.

In the storage room, the new "servants" were all lined up as if they were in training camp with the newly promoted Lieutenant Artur at the front. Instead of the usual clothes all the servants wore, now they were in rags that seemed to be made out of potato sacks. One by one all the servants gave a report of what happened in the day.

Any positive reports the men made, they were given a nod of approval. Any negative, they were punched in the stomach hard enough for them to fall to their knees. As for the women, regardless of their report, they were touched or fondled. The only difference was if they had a negative report, they were assaulted more aggressively.

At the end of the line, Levi noticed the girl that had been coming to clean his room. She too was wearing a pathetic excuse for clothing made out of rags. With her head down, all Levi could make out was that she was visibly shaking and sweating. When the Lieutenant finally got to her, he already put his hand under her chin to tilt her head up to look at him.

"And what about you Galina? I didn't see you cleaning up at the mess hall after dinner, **again**. Do we need to have another… chat?" Artur moved his hands down to her waist as he said the word "chat". Even Levi could feel his stomach churning at this vulgarity.

"My deepest apologies sir, I had to stay late again to finish cleaning the quarters. You know how **Captain Levi** likes to have his room proper. If my being late is keeping the duties from being finished, maybe you could talk to him about letting me go earlier?"

Everything clicked in place at once. This girl, Galina, had been purposely staying longer every day to clean Levi's room to avoid Artur.

The Lieutenant scowled and removed his hands from Galina's body. "No… no let's not go bother the Captain with such trivial business. Afterall, you know what would happen if anyone were to find out about this. All of you dismissed, get back to the barn"

All the servants responded and began heading towards the stairs. Levi had already exited his hiding spot and was back in the main hall. Instead of going out through the main entrance, the servants were heading out through the back room with only the sound of their footsteps audible. Even the Lieutenant himself was going the long route back to his room, avoiding main entrances.

Looking out the window, Levi could see all the servants stumbling in the darkness seemingly making their way to the barn as instructed. At the end of the line, Levi could make out Galina's silhouette through the moonlight. While she stood properly when spoke to or cleaning, her posture was always slightly hunched over with her hands together in front of her chest. As if she was a child twiddling their fingers while being scolded by their parents. A couple of other people fell in line beside her and they began conversing. All while Galina wore the same pained and tired look on her face.

Turning away, Levi started down the hall towards his room. He wasn't going to lose any sleep over this discovery, and he had his own schedule to attend to tomorrow with the exhibition coming up.

As he entered his room, he went to his desk and pulled out some paper and a quill. He scribbled down some quick notes about the events he witnessed and carefully stowed the paper away. Levi would make sure to bring this up with Erwin after the exhibition.

* * *

Hanji energetically waved goodbye while Levi promptly turned and left. He had gone to the equipment facility with Hanji and some others going on the exhibition to check their 3D Maneuver Gear and make sure it was in proper condition. While it was a standard procedure, it irked Levi to have to do this despite the mission being delayed an extra two weeks. Erwin had been abruptly called away to go to the innermost wall for a meeting and another interrogation, leaving the called upon troops with another few days to enjoy peace.

As Levi walked down the hall towards his room, he realized that he hadn't seen Galina since discovering the servants' dark secret. Should he bring it up to her, or just go about things as usual?

These thoughts that swirled in his mind momentarily were stopped when Levi opened the door to find his room empty. Untouched since this morning when he left, and absent of any evidence that Galina was here.

The sun had begun to set already, whether she stayed or not, Galina was normally here. During this time is when other servants would be finishing up their last tasks. Levi caught one of the male servants around his age exiting another nearby room.

"Where's the girl that normally cleans my room? She hasn't done it today" he questioned.

A frown quickly appeared on the man's face as he looked at Levi. "Oh her… The Lieutenant… had a different task for her today" He muttered the words as if carefully choosing them while he spoke.

"I see"

"Uh, would you like me to clean your room instead?" the servant awkwardly asked as he gestured towards the cleaning supplies still in hand.

"No, you'll just make it even dirtier. That'll be all"

And with that, Levi left the servant standing in the hall annoyed at having his cleaning skills insulted.

Levi didn't normally roam the base at these hours. A meal would usually be delivered to his room for lunchtime. After eating, he would take his plates to the mess hall where the dishes were piled up. Then he would retreat back to his private quarters to relax before sundown. In the evening, he would go to eat dinner and then out to patrol before bed.

Before sunset, the base was rather lively with cadets and servants. However today he noticed that there were more female servants conversing with each other in hushed worried tones. Levi grew more tense with every step he took as he heard bits and pieces of the conversations between the servants.

"The Lieutenant's doing that again isn't he?"

"I'm so glad today isn't my turn..."

"Yeah but it's not any better for someone else to endure it is it?"

"Better her than me… I'm not going anywhere near the washroom"

"I feel so bad for the girls, I wish I could do something"

"We shouldn't have to go through this, we may be criminals but we're still humans!"

"Human? Anyone in the Military Police already isn't human themselves, why would they treat us like that?"

Unfortunately, when Levi reached Artur's room and threw the door open, he was nowhere to be found. As he stood there, unsure of where else to look, he heard voices coming from down the hall.

The washroom

Water splashing and struggling groans could be heard from inside. Kicking down the locked doorknob, Levi entered the washroom only to feel an urge to throw up his lunch.

Lieutenant Artur was stark naked, sitting on the edge of the bathtub. In his arms, he was forcibly holding Galina, attempting to strip her clothes off. In her hands, Galina was holding a washrag and a sponge, making Levi cringe at the thought of what she was being forced to do.

"C-Captain Levi!" Artur's grip on Galina weakened after being surprised by Levi's sudden appearance.

Galina quickly escaped his grasp and ran behind Levi as she fixed her wet clothes.

"What's going on here" Levi demanded, stepping to the side slightly to stand in front of Galina.

Artur reached for a towel to wrap around his waist as he stood up to address the Captain innocently, as if he wasn't just caught assaulting a woman.

"You know it's rude to walk in on someone while they're in the bath"

"You know it's disgusting to force your fetishes on those weaker than you" Levi spat out in disgust. Behind him, Galina stood in her usual hunched over pose, shivering and quietly whimpering.

"Oh come now, these women are my slaves! As are those men but we all know the ladies are more fun to play with hehe"

"What do you mean slaves?"

"I mean, these people have all committed crimes. They were brought here from the Underground City and sold as slaves. Now they work for me until they've repaid their debt to society, and I figure what better use for slaves than to have them help around the military base?"

Upon hearing mention of the Underground City, Levi felt his hate for this man growing. "Working for you is punishment enough. Do you think the higher-ups will be okay with knowing that civilians are working as slaves in these conditions?"

"Hah! 'Civilians'? Anyone from the Underground City is no more than trash. Maybe if you put 10 of them together they could count as one normal civilian"

Seemingly proud of what he's done, Artur began heartily laughing after unveiling this scheme that had been going on at the base for almost 2 months now.

"So what Levi? Are you going to report me? Tattle to your beloved Commander Erwin?" Artur taunted.

Before Levi could even think of a response he was cut off by a loud scream as well as something touching him from behind. In an instant, blood flew into the air as Artur fell to the floor howling in pain. Galina stood above him seething with anger, holding Levi's pocket knife in her hands. She hadn't been shivering in fear, she'd been shaking with rage.

On the floor, blood mixed with spilled bathwater as Artur clutched his manhood in pain.

"I've had enough, we've all had enough of you controlling us with our past mistakes! And we've especially had enough of you forcing different women in this room every day and waving that disgusting thing in our face!" Galina screamed at the top of her lungs.

On the other side of the doorway, Levi could hear people running around. Cadets screaming to find another superior and servants either cheering with joy or gasping in horror.

"You will not touch me with that thing again!" Galina lunged for Artur, knife in hand before Levi grabbed her forearm and pulled her back.

"That's enough!"

"No! He deserves to die! Let me go!"

Levi struggled to calm Galina down as she thrashed in his arms waving his own knife at him. She was seemingly broken out of her enraged trance when other servants and cadets ran in with medical supplies to see how badly injured Artur was. Galina dropped the knife and went limp enough for Levi to let her go without worries of another outburst. She leaned against the doorway, looking at the scene before her and flexing her hands covered in water and blood.

One of the cadets approached Captain Levi and reported that while not life threatening, Artur was experiencing large amounts of blood-loss and seemed to have lost feeling in one of his legs. This all from where Galina had stabbed and sliced him. Levi reassured the soldier that he would make a formal report of what happened, and that they only need worry about making sure Artur doesn't die. With that taken care of, Levi grabbed Galina by her arm and led her away from the scene.

The two of them walked in silence towards the medical ward. The room was empty most likely due to personnel being needed back at the washroom. Levi began looking through cabinets for towels and some sort of change of clothes.

"You're an idiot"

"..." Galina sat in silence, her head down as always.

"You had a perfect chance to out him, get him punished or even jailed, free you and your friends. But you ruined it all when you attacked him. Now even though this will all be brought to light, you and your friends may not be freed because you'll be seen as dangerous"

Levi threw a towel across the room, landing on Galina's head and a change of clothes in her lap. He went across the room and pulled the curtains and turned his back so he couldn't see her.

"That is, unless someone reports exactly what happened." Galina let out a small noise, like a confused cat. "That you were being assaulted and in a freak accident as you tried to escape, things were knocked over and Artur injured himself on his own weapon he left in his pocket. You and your friends will be freed and Artur will most likely be jailed after he heals"

"But…"

"I didn't see what happened, and I can only report what I know. Now hurry up and get changed. You're not going to clean my room while you're soaking wet"

There was a short pause before Levi heard shuffling on the other side of the curtain. Once she was done, Galina pulled the curtain open and cleaned up the medical ward. Quickly, she ran to get her usual cleaning supplies and walked back to Levi's room with him. While she did her usual duties, Levi wrote out his report of the 'accident' today.

As usual, Galina made a mistake and forgot to clean something and stayed longer to clean everything again. The usual silence was comforting, nothing but faint sounds of sweeping and scribbles of the quill on paper. Feeling eyes on him, Levi decided to speak up.

"You got something to say?"

"No… I'm almost done" Galina hesitated before responding. Instead of her usual expression, this time she had a small smile on her face.

"Then feel free to leave whenever. I'm heading out"

Levi stood up, rolling up his finished report and tucking it into his jacket. Once again he could feel Galina's eyes following him as he walked towards the door. Before he stepped over the threshold, this time she spoke up.

"Um, thank you Captain Levi"

Unsure of what to say, Levi waved his hand dismissively as he always did before closing the door behind him.


	2. Chapter 2 - Trauma

It's been a few days since the previous incident involving the Lieutenant, but things were slowly starting to get back into rhythm. The most recently planned Expedition to go out of the walls was delayed by the revelation of the underground slave ring that had been going on within the military.

Many of the new servants that cadets had thought to be normal civilians wanting to support the military, were actually slaves from the Underground City that had been brought above ground after being sold. All of the slaves were incarcerated for committing crimes, and due to having no support or connections, even the smallest of crimes got them jailed. Working in the military, they were made to clean and cook for all the soldiers, the slaves only got to eat a half piece of bread per meal, and two water breaks throughout the whole day. In the evenings, they were made to change out of their clothes and into rags while they were sent to sleep in the barns with the animals..

With this new information out in the open, unease began to drift around the atmosphere. Morale was already so low with the constant deaths. Knowing that people were working for them against their will in such terrible conditions, it made the cadets push for the servants' freedom. However even if they were freed, many had no place to go back to. No one wanted to willingly go back to the Underground City, and there were no relatives of any of the slaves to be found above ground.

In an attempt to reconcile, the slaves were offered their freedom as well as a place to sleep, a hot meal, proper clothing at all times, and a meager amount of money per week in exchange for them to continue their work at the military base. Initially many were hesitant to accept this bargain, however their decision became unanimous when it was announced the Lieutenant Artur would be held fully responsible for his deeds, sentenced to a public lashing and then demoted. Due to the steadily decreasing amount of people willing to join the army, Artur was not fired. Mostly the women wanted him to receive a harsher punishment for what he's done, however they relented once rumors started to spread that one of the servants was the one to injure Artur.

This of course was simply a rumor. In the official report written by Captain Levi, Lieutenant Artur was assaulting a young woman in the washroom as per his daily routine. In a panic, the girl had managed to slip away due to the water and soap and she had knocked down items throughout the room. Artur attempted to chase after her but slipped on the wet floor and injured himself on a sharp object.

Allegedly

Galina; the young woman in the rumor knew this was false but said nothing to deny the claims. Now that all this information was public, making herself out to be as much of a weak and helpless victim as possible would only help in her favor.

With promises of better working conditions, most all of the servants agreed to the previous bargain and now sleep in extra barracks on base after finishing their usual duties. They were given one day off per week to enjoy at their leisure as well as a promise of proper clothes and supplies.

More than happy with their new arrangements, the atmosphere at the base was a lot more pleasant compared to the last four months. And with things finally on track, it was time to get ready for the Expedition.

* * *

"All done Captain Levi" Galina stood up straight, lightly patting her apron free from wrinkles.

Levi got up from his desk and inspected the room as usual. The young girl watched as he walked around the room, checking every single nook and cranny for any speck of dirt or dust. Now that she had no reason to stall, did her best to make sure Levi's room was cleaned properly the first time she tried. That didn't mean she never made a mistake, it just meant that she made less.

"Not bad this time" Levi admitted as he returned to his desk. "Keep in mind I'll be gone for a few days or so. You don't need to come back and clean every single day, but I expect the room to be spotless when I return. Dismissed"

He waved his hand at her as usual and Galina saluted him before kneeling down to gather her supplies. While doing so, Galina stole a few quick glances at the man she respected so much. After being brought to the base, she was under the assumption that most of the older soldiers were all the same. She'd only experienced kindness and any sort of sympathy from cadets even she could tell were new. Or at the very least, still uncorrupted. Her first impression of Levi was rather poor. But that's to be expected when the first thing he did was insult her cleaning.

Even though she did use him as an excuse to keep from going back to Artur, she never interacted with Levi otherwise and saw him as a high-ranking recluse. She especially never expected him to save her in the washroom. Galina wanted to do something to thank him, but with no belongings or savings, the most she could do would be clean for him. And for all she knew, that's probably the best anyway.

Galina exited the room and closed the door behind her, heaving a sigh of relief. She didn't feel nervous but it also wasn't easy to feel relaxed in his presence.

"Hey kid" A male voice sounded off behind her.

She turned to see Adalric walking up to her. He was one of the older slaves that looked out for the younger ones and took most of the beatings too. It was hard not to smile when being around him. Adalric had a very caring personality and just brought a smile out of you.

"Adalric! All done with work?" Galina waited until he was next to her before they both began walking down the hall.

"Not yet, I was just called up to help with the last of the food supplies for the Expedition."

"So late?" Outside the window, the sun had already almost completely set. Darkness was setting in quickly and folks were beginning to walk around carrying lanterns for light.

"Yeah, I guess they forgot something. It'll be quick though, me and a couple of other guys are just going to go and get it over with"

"I'll come too! The more people the faster it'll go!" Aldaric looked at the girl surprised.

Galina fought the urge to glow a light pink. Admittedly, it was hard to behave the way she naturally wanted to in their previous situation. But now with more leeway, she was starting to feel like herself again. But after seeing how Aldaric reacted, she wondered if people would dislike her for it.

"I don't mind but you sure you're not tired? I know your schedule and you just finished up your last task."

"I wouldn't have said I wanted to go help if I didn't mean it. Now let's get to it, what exactly do they need?" It was a rather amusing sight to see. A petite young woman giving demands to an older man almost twice her size.

"Hah…" Adalric sighed, scratching the back of his head unable to hide the smirk on his face. "Fine, come with me. Most of it is already done, we just have a few more crates left"

The two began walking down the hall, making small talk with one another about how they were enjoying their new lives. The only thing they could possibly have to complain about is how they and all their friends had to squeeze into one room for sleeping. Otherwise it was wonderful to be able to go through everyday without the fear of any sort of abuse.

Aldaric walked over to where the gas tanks were kept and lifted two under each arm. Galina grabbed some rope, throwing them over her shoulders before also picking up a few smaller crates. The two of them wouldn't be enough to get everything, but Aldaric assured Galina that there were a few more people helping out, so even if they didn't get everything it'd be okay.

Due to how much taller and stronger Aldaric was, his walking pace was a lot faster. Galina struggled to keep up, but told him to go on ahead and not wait for her. Despite his concerns, he relented and told her that the cart carrying the supplies would be located outside at the back of the mess hall.

By the time Galina actually reached the exit, she noticed that the sun had already set and it was dark outside. The only light came from a few lamps placed throughout the alley clearing. Aldaric was tying down the gas tanks to make sure that nothing would tip over.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"Geez… if you want to help me so bad then just take the rope off my back and get going! Dinner time will be starting soon and you'll miss your chance to get some food" She understood that Aldaric only had good intentions but having him doting on her like this was getting annoying.

He gently lifted the ropes off of her and placed them in the cart for her. "Fine fine, never knew you were so cranky Gal. I'll meet you back in the mess hall"

Aldaric smiled at her before going back inside.. Galina turned back to her original duties, arranging the crates she brought and making sure they were properly secured. As she was doing so, she heard footsteps coming up behind her along with the dull clanking sound of a gas tank.

Galina turned to greet her new company. "Oh is that the last of the-"

Before she could finish her thought, the cold metal of the gas tank slammed into the back of her neck, knocking the wind out of her as she slammed into the crate. Galina coughed violently, trying to regain her composure but to no avail as a hand pushed her head down, another grabbing her arms and pulling them backwards.

"W-who-?!"

"You… you ruined my life! You ruined everything!" A chill went down Galina's spine as she recognized the deep voice that growled behind her.

"Lieutenant…!"

Artur pulled her up by her arms roughly to face him. His hair was matted and unruly, it matched with the growing patchy facial hair on his jawline, and he reeked of booze. Fear was quickly overtaking Galina's mind, unable to think of how to get out of this.

"My job, my promotion, my legs, you've taken everything from me!" He pushed Galina onto her back on the cart, climbing on top of her and using the ropes she'd just brought down and begun tying her arms down. "You're going to pay for this"

"No!" Galina struggled but it was impossible to get him off of her

He grabbed her kicking legs and reached his hand down towards her skirt, grabbing the hem. However before he could lift the fabric up, a scream was heard behind him and Artur was met with a wooden lamp post to the face, knocking him off the cart.

Looking up, Galina saw Aldaric running to the side of the cart towards her with an urgent look on his face. "Are you okay?"

"Yes… please hurry!"

Quickly he began untying the ropes on her arms. A low angry groaning could be heard on the other side of the cart as Artur stood back up.

"You…!"

Aldaric paused momentarily, contemplating what to do. Galina looked at him and back at Artur, feeling the tension rise. Aldaric dove to pick up the lamp post he had but was immediately kicked in the stomach. He rolled over in pain, trying to turn away from Artur but he wasn't quick enough. Artur reached into the cart, presumably for another weapon to use. When he did, Galina used the one free hand Aldaric untied and grabbed the man. She pulled his arm down and bit as hard as she could, feeling blood stain her teeth. Artur pulled away screaming as he clutched his hand.

With the new opportunity, Aldaric tried to catch his second wind as he stood up slowly while Galina tried to untie her other arm while screaming for help. All the noise attracted some other servants. Galina could see some of her friends at the doorway to the mess hall. Two girls immediately turned tail and ran to find help while the men ran towards them. Artur barely even looked up before getting clocked in the face by one of them. The other two came to help Galina and Aldaric. She barely sat up in the cart before seeing her comrade get knocked to the floor.

She thought Artur had overpowered the man that was distracting him, but to her horror she saw other soldiers running in. And they weren't the cadets she'd gotten used to seeing around the base. These soldiers, she knew were Artur's underlings.

Humiliatingly quick, Galina and her friends were overpowered. Now able to regain his footing, Artur turned towards her with a menacing look in his eyes as he approached.

"You're not getting away this time"

Raising his arm he struck her across the face and pushed her down in the cart again. However this time, he put his hands around her throat.

"Lieutenant we have to go! Others are going to come after all this noise!"

"Did you find the other two women that ran?"

"Yes sir! We're bringing them in now"

Barely able to look, Galina could indeed see her two friends being brought in by more soldiers. One was being dragged by her hair and the other was already unconscious, tossed over the man's shoulder.

"Good, tie em up and gag em. And do the same to the men, make sure they're out cold and tied up good. We're throwing them all in the cart" Artur ordered.

Her vision was getting blurrier Artur's hands around her neck tightened. Before losing all consciousness, she saw one of the underlings come up behind Artur with a sickening grin on his face and a cloth in his hand. Above her, Artur leaned close to her and once again the smell of booze contaminated the air around her.

"I want you to understand that you caused this, all of it. And now you're going to pay"

These words echoed in her ears as she finally blacked out.

* * *

Galina slowly blinked her eyes open after being woken up by the sound of orders being screamed and the floor shaking beneath her. At first all she saw was darkness until she realized she was being covered by a tarp and still gagged by a cloth. Throwing it off, the new light blinded her momentarily, and she wished she'd stay blinded.

The scene in front of her was that of a massacre. Blood and body parts laid strewn throughout the ground of an abandoned village, along with large deep footprints. A blood curdling scream was heard behind her, and when she turned to look she saw one of her friends being held like a toy by a giant humanoid creature.

A titan.

Before she could fully register how she got here, Galina watched as her friend was shoved into the titan's mouth and swallowed.

Overhead, soldiers zipped by on their maneuver gear, screaming instructions that she did not understand. One of younger soldiers noticed her still sitting in the cart and was about to call out to her. However he looked past her and immediately his eyes grew wide. The soldier screamed at her to run before he turned back around and continued to escape with the help of his equipment.

A low moan was heard behind her. Galina turned around to see a smaller titan looking at her curiously. Unable to move, she froze in fear as the titan reached out a hand to grab her. Just as its fingers began to close around her, the titan roared out and began screaming as if it was crying. The titan's yell broke Galina out of her shock as she saw Aldaric on the titan's back, shoving a blade into its neck.

Swiftly, he jumped off the titan's back and ran towards the cart Galina was on. He fumbled around until he found another blade and cut off the ropes that she hadn't even noticed were still binding her. Aldaric pulled her along, running for the cover of one of the buildings. "Hurry!" he shouted at her.

Her legs barely kept up with her, numb from not being used for so long. With their slow speed, the titan that Aldaric had stabbed was already over its shock and stumbling after them. Seemingly as a last ditch resort, Aldaric stopped right in his tracks and Galina ran past him. Before she could turn around, he tackled her hard enough so that she flew a good couple feet forward and landed safely in the building.

Unable to breathe from the gag and from having the wind knocked out of her, she quickly reached to get the cloth gag off of her. While doing so, she looked back and saw the titan grabbing her friend and pulling his legs until a lot cracking pop was heard and blood started spurting out.

"Aldaric!"

Galina's breath was caught in her throat as she felt the same rage she did that day in the washroom. Surveying the area, she saw the corpse of a nearby soldier and quickly sprinted for it. Doing her best to ignore how mangled the poor soldier was, she focused solely on their equipment. Finding extra blades in the sheathe, she grabbed one, not caring that the steel cut into her own skin and ran at the titan holding her friend.

The seemingly 4-meter tall titan was focused on Alaric, pulling him apart as easily as a human would pull apart bread to eat. She focused on the creature's ankles and used the one blade she had at her disposal to slice as hard as she could. The titan fell forward, dropping Aldaric and sending him sliding across the floor. Galina climbed on top of the titan and began slicing everywhere she saw. The back, the shoulders, the neck, the head and so on. But no matter what she did, steam quickly rose to block her vision as the titan healed. It was a miracle she managed to stay on top of the titan while it thrashed around.

In her blind rage, she didn't notice another presence appear on the battlefield. In the blink of an eye, the titan beneath her grew limp and stopped moving. Galina blinked, confused at what just happened until she heard a voice off to the side.

"You're supposed to cut off their nape. Although I guess I can't expect you to know that"

Galina turned to see Captain Levi standing there, splatters of blood covering his cloak but quickly evaporating. Seeing him so calm, she took that as a hint that things were now safe and took a look at her surroundings.

She and many others were in the middle of an abandoned and destroyed village. The sun was still high in the sky, indicating it was maybe barely past noon. Opposite of where the sun was, she saw the wall in the far distance. Many soldiers were dead, and about 5-6 titans were also defeated and releasing copious amounts of steam. Among the carnage, Galina saw her friends. She recognized them as the few that came to help her the previous night.

Upon remembering the events that happened mere hours earlier, Galina jumped off the titan and ran past Levi to her injured friend.

"Aldaric!"

"H-hey kid… that was really gutsy…" Aldaric choked out his words as he lay on his stomach. His legs were bleeding uncontrollably and bending in impossible directions from the knees down.

Tears blurred her vision as Galina stared down at her friend that saved her not once but twice, and this time at a much greater cost.

"What happened here?" Levi demanded from the soldiers that were beginning to regroup by the cart Galina had come in on.

"Sir! We were attacked by a group of titans on our way to the rendezvous point!" The soldier reporting turned to glare at Galina and Aldaric. "I believe it was because of these people and their friends stowing away in the carts. The higher population per group must of attracted the titans. We've suffered many casualties and as of right now I must request that we regroup and fall back sir!"

After taking in the aftermath of what had happened, Levi nodded and gave the order for the troops to gather themselves up. However instead of falling back, they were going to continue towards the rendezvous point before nightfall so they could report to Erwin.

Much to Galina's surprise, the troops were looting the corpse's of their comrades rather than retrieving their bodies.

"What are you doing? We can't just leave them behind!" she protested as the soldiers walked past her. They placed things like cloaks or trinkets such as necklaces or bracelets worn by the dead into the cart.

"Didn't you hear me earlier?" The young man who reported to Levi approached Galina. "We were attacked because having so many people in one area attracts the Titans. If it wasn't for you and your friends, we wouldn't have had to lose so many people to begin with and now we can't even take them home to their families!"

Other soldiers nearby who overheard the conversation scowled at Galina, others nodding their head in agreement. Knowing that she had no grounds to defend herself on, she surrendered and said no more. Galina walked back to where Aldaric was.

"Gal… you should do the same, go get something from our friends, or what's left of them…" Aldaric murmured out.

Nodding, she followed his orders and quickly ran to find the remains of her friends among the bodies. Galina found three bodies. She knew that besides Aldaric, five people had tried to help her last night. And after seeing one being eaten, she had to presume the other missing was eaten as well. She'd never prayed before, but she didn't know what else to do in such a grim situation. Quickly, she clasped her hands together and muttered out a sorry excuse of a prayer before looking for something to take from her friends. A pair of cufflinks from one of their shirts, an earring from another, and a ribbon from the last, stuffing them into her skirt pocket.

Full of regret, Galina swallowed the lump in her throat and turned her back on their corpses. As she walked back to Aldaric, she wondered how she would lift him up to carry him to the cart. Seeing as how she could feel the hate radiating off the other soldiers, she doubted she could ask them to help. She figured she could sit him up and lean him on her back and try to carry him that way. As Galina leaned her friend on her back, she heard footsteps approaching her.

"What do you think you're doing?" The same young man asked her.

"Carrying my friend…?"

"No you're not. Look at him, he's crippled and half dead already. It'd be kinder to put him out of his misery" The soldier spat out these words as if it was venom in his mouth.

"What?!"

"Galina… listen to him. Leave me be, I can't-"

"No! I understand that we have to leave the dead behind but you're still alive and i'm taking you home!" She turned to glare at the soldier. "No matter what"

Summoning all of her strength, Galina lifted Aldaric onto her back, stumbling forward slightly at having the weight of a man twice her size on her at once. The soldier scoffed and left, offering no help as she had expected.

When she finally got to the cart, Levi reached out and grabbed the back of Aldaric's shirt, heaving him upwards and onto the cart to rest on a pile of ropes for a softer resting spot. Then he stretched his hand out, staring at Galina expectedly.

"Hurry it up"

"...Thank you Sir"

Once everybody that was unable to move was safely aboard the cart, the others mounted their horses with Levi at the front. Galina did her best to ignore the daggers being glared at her and focused solely on making sure Aldaric was still breathing and properly hydrated. Levi raised his hand and gave the order for them to disembark.

* * *

By sundown, they had reached their destination. Another abandoned village, however this one was at a hilltop surrounded by plenty of pine trees, making it easy to see any incoming Titans and take them down if need be. Levi ordered everyone to be alert on standby while he went to speak to Erwin privately in the makeshift office in one of the barely standing buildings. The other soldiers grabbed the remaining items aboard the cart, once again ignoring Galina and Aldaric. And not wanting to move him any more than necessary, she chose to stay aboard the cart with them. All around her, she could hear the soldiers sharing stories of what their separate expeditions were like. Soon they came upon the topic of the massacre that she had indirectly caused.

Just as the gossip was getting to its peak, a door was heard opening and all the soldiers immediately stood up straight and saluted. Erwin emerged from the building, followed closely by Levi. Galina moved to get off the cart and salute as well but the Commander raised his hand.

"You're one of the servants right? Tell me your side of the story, and give me a reason as to why you were stowed away in the cart"

Galina felt her palms get sweaty as all the soldiers within earshot were staring intently at her, waiting for her response. She didn't do well as the center of attention. Her breathing became shallow as she struggled to keep her composure until she heard a familiar voice.

"And you better not leave out any details"

Quickly, her eyes shot to where Levi stood. While his posture and his expression looked as if he was angry and growing impatient, his eyes held a sort of compassion. Feeling herself calming down, Galina took a deep breath and began her explanation. How she was merely helping prepare the supplies for today's expedition, but she was ambushed and nearly raped by former Lieutenant Artur. Aldaric had come to save her as well as some other friends, but some of the older soldiers who still followed Artur came and they were all over powered. Everyone was knocked unconscious and thrown onto the cart and covered by the tarps. Once they were outside the walls, the Titans were attracted due to the larger number of people unknowingly bunched together and so the bloodshed ensued.

Once Galina was done with her side of the story, she tried to sneak a look at the soldiers around her. A good amount of them no longer glared at her, but looked down on her with pity. Others seemed to be more angry, but that anger was now instead directed at Artur. It was hard to see all their reactions clearly with the sun readily setting.

Erwin looked thoughtful as he listened to her story and nodded in understanding once she was finished. "Unfortunately for us, but fortunately for you, our expedition has been completed and we will be returning to the city tonight. I'll take care of this matter regarding Artur personally, you have my word. You have my condolences for being dragged into such a dangerous situation"

The commander bowed his head slightly as he saluted Galina, causing her face to flush red as she quickly begged him to stop and offer her own apologies for being the cause of so much trouble. And with that, Erwin arranged for some rations and water to be given to her and Aldaric and the soldiers dispersed.

The soldier that brought the rations was actually the one that was so angry with Galina before. While he still had the same scowl on his face, it didn't seem to be intended for her. The young man couldn't even bring himself to look her in the eye as he handed her the water and placed the rations of food on the cart.

Galina gently raised Aldaric's head into her lap as she slowly poured water for him to drink. While she did her best to comfort him and ease his suffering, Aldaric's face was still twisted in pain. She looked at the ration on the cart in front of her, a cracker in the shape of a block. Galina frowned at it. She never knew soldiers ate things like this when out on expeditions. Whenever she'd handled the rations, they'd always been wrapped. With how they looked, she thought they were boxes containing gunpowder or something else. Feeing this to Aldaric might choke him to death if his injuries didn't do him in first.

"If you don't think he can eat it then you better eat it yourself. You need the energy after today" Levi walked up and took a seat on the edge of the cart with his arms crossed.

"Yes Sir…" Galina murmured out as she raised the cracker to her mouth and took a bite. Immediately, she felt the need to cough but held it in. It was so dry and crumbly.

A splashing sound went off in front of her, grabbing her attention. The Captain was holding a container of water in his outstretched hand, but still barely looking at her. Galina thanked him as she took the water and drank from it. She didn't realize how thirsty she was, she hadn't eaten or drinken anything the whole day.

"We'll be taking off once it's completely dark, the Titans are less mobile without sunlight. Although we do need someone to hold torches for light. Think you can handle that?" She nodded her head. "Good, then get some rest. I'll wake you when it's time"

Galina was surprised she was given permission to relax, but accepted the offer looked around for what she could move in order to have space to lie on the cart.

"Not like that you dolt. You'll make yourself sore if you just lay down like that"

"Huh? Then how…?"

She looked at Levi in confusion, who only grunted. He re-adjusted himself so that he was on the cart completely, with one leg stretched and using the other to lean forward on. Unsure if it was the right move, Galina decided to just go for it and moved so she was sitting directly behind Levi and leaned against him, back to back.

"Are you sure-"

"It's getting dark, and it's not like you're heavy or anything. It's fine"

Reassured by his words, Galina let her muscles relax against her will. Almost immediately, she felt her eyelids grow heavy. The only sight she could see before her was that of her injured friend. She felt a sob welling up in her throat, but she choked it back. The realization and gravity of what happened today was finally setting in. Although she kept herself from crying, she couldn't stop from shaking and silently cursed herself for it.

Without warning, Levi suddenly leaned forward, causing Galina to lean back against him more. When she did, he moved his head to the side in a way so that hers was leaning on his shoulder.

"Captain…"

"Get some rest" Hearing his deep voice soothed her riled up nerves.

Deciding to make the most of the situation, Galina turned and leaned her face against Levi's neck, breathing in his scent before falling asleep.


	3. Chapter 3 - Decision

"I'm back!" Galina announced as cheerfully as she could as she walked through the door.

As usual, there was no response. Frowning to herself, Galina closed the door behind her and walked into the house. Aldaric's house to be exact. Speaking of which, he was in the living room as always, sitting in his wheelchair looking out of the window.

Galina set down the vegetables she'd gone out to buy on the table and aimlessly talked about anything that happened throughout the day. How peaceful things finally were, how many of the servants were much happier simply knowing that Artur was now under 24/7 watch, and how much all their friends missed Aldaric.

Despite how hard she tried to make herself sound cheerful, she noticed that the look in Aldaric's eyes hadn't changed. Instead of the usual shimmer of determination and strength, now his eyes were dull and full of despair. They'd been like that for weeks after their encounter with the Titans a while back.

When news of what had happened got back to the city, there was an outrage not only from those within the military but from citizens as well. Although the topic of slavery had miraculously been left in the dark, the rumor that spread referred only to how the actions of a drunkard going through a power-trip endangered the lives of many almost 20 civilians and soldiers.

In an act of kindness that was nothing less than a miracle, citizens opened their hearts to the only two surviving servants. Within days, a storage unit in the middle of the city was cleaned out and made into a homely cottage big enough for two people. At the same time, the issue of Artur was brought to court thanks to Commander Erwin. It didn't take long for Artur to be convicted and instead of being jailed, he was sentenced to community service under 24/7 supervision. And any money he made would be given to Aldaric as a sort of compensation.

And it was with that money that Galina was able to buy any food today. Taking it upon herself, Galina has decided to move in with Aldaric in order to take care of him. Since then, she'd been making sure he has something to eat in the morning and something for the afternoon. After work, she would rush back to buy fresh ingredients for dinner. She'd be lying to herself if she tried to say she was doing it all out of the goodness of her heart.

Deep down she was fully aware of the guilt she felt. Even if he was a sick, demented, sorry excuse of a human being, Galina couldn't deny the truth in Artur's words that night.

 **" _I want you to understand that you caused this, all of it."_**

These words echoed in the back of her mind so frequently that she was even having nightmares revolving around her regrets.

If only she'd stayed calm in the wash room. If only she was more alert at night. If only she was quicker outside of the walls. If only…

"Gal? It's burning"

Aldaric's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. He seldom spoke nowadays that when he rarely did, it was a nice surprise. Looking down at the pot, she realized the stew she was making was starting to burn at the bottom and she quickly moved it off of the stove. In her haste, she accidentally splashed some out of the pot and onto her arm. In doing so, she nearly dropped the pot and tried to catch it again, burning her fingertips on the hot steel. Unable to stifle the noise, she let out a small squeak of pain.

"Pff… you sound like a cat" Aldaric began to chuckle at Galina's clumsy antics. "Are you okay? Let me see"

As Galina ladeled the stew into individual bowls, Aldaric held out his hand. Once she set his bowl down in front of him she placed her hand in his palm as he inspected her 'injuries'. She never noticed how big his hands were compared to hers.

"It doesn't look too bad. Some ointment and medicine will probably help. I can go get some-"

"No no! It's fine, it doesn't even hurt!" Galina pulled her hand back, refusing to let Aldaric see the injuries any longer. "Besides who wastes medicine on a small burn? It's better to save it for a real emergency. Now let's eat, I'm starving"

She did her best to put on a smile to reassure Aldaric that she wasn't hurt and picked up her spoon and began eating. After a short pause, he did the same. Together they ate dinner in peace, exchanging a few stories. Galina spoke about her day at the base and Aldaric mentioned who had come to visit him that day. After dinner was done and over with, Galina gathered up the plates and went to put them in the sink.

"Where do you want to go tomorrow? It'll be good to get some fresh air" Galina asked as she began to wash the dishes

Aldaric tilted his head up and closed his eyes, thinking. "I wouldn't mind going to see the flower fields"

"It's settled then. Flowers it is"

Aldaric gave a meek smile before breaking eye contact and looking down at his hands in his lap.

With permission, Galina had been taking the weekends off in order to dedicate that time to taking care of Aldaric. She didn't mind, but she did feel bad about not getting as much work done as the base no matter how many times her friends assured her that they could pick up the slack.

After finishing all the dishes, Galina stretched her hand to reach for a rag only to find there were none available. Shrugging she went to wipe her hands on her apron and low and behold, she hadn't brought it back. Angrily, she scoffed under her breath at her forgetfulness. She'd been more scatterbrained lately than ever before.

"Everything okay?"

"Um…"

"Did you forget your apron again?"

Aldaric looked at her with an amused look on his face. A smirk on his lips and an eyebrow raised. Galina shyly nodded her head and shared a laugh with her companion. She decided she didn't mind her clumsiness lately. It wasn't much of an inconvenience and it brought out a bit of the old Aldaric.

"Go ahead and grab it tomorrow. You'll get scolded if you don't clean it the next time you go in"

"Okay, I'll get it before we leave" With that, Galina decided it was time for bed and went to grab Aldaric. Gently, she began pushing him towards his room and helped him onto his bed. Just as she set his head down on the pillow, Aldaric reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Ah before you go, can you grab me some bandages?"

Bandages? Galina left the room confused but went to the cupboard where they kept their first aid supplies and grabbed a few. When she came back, Aldaric once again took hold of her hand and began to clumsily wrap up her fingers.

"Hey!"

"Listen to your elders kid. This'll help" He said, ignoring her complaints.

"We're both adults…" she grumbled, puffing out her cheeks on purpose. As she did, she snuck a quick glance at Aldaric to see him smiling again, and it made her feel happy.

* * *

Before the sun rose, Galina quietly left the cottage and jogged to the military base. Luckily she was wearing her casual cloth slippers, so she was able to silently tiptoe through the wooden building into the servants' quarters. Galina immediately found her apron hanging on one of the hooks on the walls. As she left the room folding her apron, Galina thought back to last night. The rags at the cottage were either all too dirty or too worn out.

Against her better judgement, Galina decided to make a quick stop by the mess hall and find some extra rags lying around the back. Once she got what she came for, she made a beeline for the door. However when she opened it, she was greeted by a rather surprised but unamused glare.

"C-Captain Levi! I uh… um... ...Good morning…" Galina hastily hushed her own voice down from surprised to a quiet whisper.

"So do you always steal from the military in the early mornings?" Levi looked at her as he waited for answer. Even before the sun rose, he was in proper uniform. And maybe because it was so early, he was more irritated than normal. He had one hand on his hip and the other at his side as he tapped his foot slowly.

"N-no sir… I forgot my apron. And I needed to get some rags… for cleaning" Galina tried hard not look like she was nervous. Despite how this man had saved her and even comforted her at times, defying his cruel reputation, she could never fully stay calm around him.

"Cleaning huh? Did you need medicine too?"

"Sir?"

Levi pointed at her hands. When she looked down she realized that her fingers were still bandaged from the night before. "Oh no. I burned myself last night and Aldaric bandaged my fingers for me"

"Burned? Bandaging up a burn is just about the worst you can do." The annoyance in his voice was as clear as sun slowly rising in the distance. "Come with me"

Grabbing her by the forearm, Levi lead her out back where the water pump was. He took the items she was carrying out of her grasp and set them on a crate nearby. He also removed his own jacket to reveal the plain white shirt he wore underneath. Levi carefully rolled up his sleeves and walked towards the water pump.

"Don't just stand there. Come here and put your hand out"

Doing as she was told, Galina knelt down by the pump and stretched her fingers out while Levi began pumping the lever. At first it seemed like he struggled a bit. The metal must have frozen slightly during the night, but it wasn't long before it gave way and began pumping like it should. After a few seconds, water flowed out from the pipe and washed over her fingers. Most likely due to the weather and how early it was, the water felt ice-cold. While it felt good on her fingers, Galina was once again unable to stifle a small yelp of surprise once she felt the cool sensation.

"Cooling a burn down and letting it breathe is the best way to let it heal. Wrapping it up will only trap the heat and make it worse. Think about these things why don't you?" Levi looked satisfied after giving Galina a short lecture as he rolled down his sleeves and went to retrieve his jacket.

After the water finally stopped dripping, Galina stood up and shook some of the water off. However her cold skin combined with the cool morning air made her shiver. Quickly she tried to bury her hand in her clothes to warm up but Levi grabbed her before she could. Immediately, Galina tensed up as she felt all the warmth from her body go to her cheeks.

"Don't even think about wiping your hand on your clothes. I know you know better than that. Here" Reaching into his jacket pocket, Levi pulled out a handkerchief. Being surprisingly gentle, he took Galina's hand in his and wiped the excess water off. His hand felt nice and warm against her cold skin.

After what felt like an eternity, Levi pulled away and tucked the handkerchief back in his pocket, leaving Galina standing there still slightly dazed.

"I expect my room to be clean when you come back after tomorrow"

"Huh? Y-Yes Sir!" Galina responded as she tried to regain her composure and offer a salute to the Captain, but she was rather sure she used her right hand instead of her left.

"Wrong hand"

Yep. Galina quickly adjusted her salute while enduring a judgmentally skeptical look from Levi. Eventually the corner of his lips curled into a subtle smirk before he turned and left.

* * *

"Gal... I think we have enough"

"I know. This is for something else"

"But-"

"Just a few more minutes!"

"Ughhh"

Aldaric sighed as he rested his head on his hand, leaning on the armrest of his wheelchair. Galina ignored him and continued picking flowers in the field. The sun was almost at its peak now, and it was getting a bit warm. She'd already picked enough flowers to decorate the cottage, as well as some edible ones she planned to cook or make into a jam to eat in the mornings. At the moment, Galina was picking flowers for a different purpose as she weaved the stems together.

"All done!" She was so happy and proud of her work she nearly skipped to Aldaric sitting under a tree. Gently she set the crown of flowers on his head and waited for his reaction.

"What the-?" Aldaric chuckled as he touched his new head ornament. "This is what you spent the last 20 minutes doing?"

"Yeah. I thought you could use a new accessory. Do you like it?"

"Haha, it's great Gal, I love it. But don't put yourself to the trouble next time. Don't your fingers still hurt?"

Galina held up her hands to show her fingers. "Not at all. It's all better"

"Heh I guess the bandages worked then huh?"

A short silence fell between the two as Galina looked away awkwardly as she scratched her cheek. When Aldaric questioned her sudden silence, she explained that the bandages could have made the small injury worse. As she spoke, she noticed Aldaric's previous confident expression slowly fade.

"Oh… I'm sorry Galina. I didn't know, I just wanted to help" he murmured out quietly, turning away from her.

"It's okay! I don't blame you for it! Besides it's all better now anyway"

"That's good… How'd you figure out how to properly take care of it anyway?"

"Captain Levi told me"

Aldaric's head jerked up at the mention of Levi's name. Galina explained that she ran into the Captain early in the morning and he had caught her trying to take back some rags. Instead of reprimanding her for that, he noticed her wounds and properly took care of them. As she relayed the earlier events, she noticed Aldaric slowly start frowning more.

"I see…"

"What's wrong Ald-"

"I'm glad he helped you. Can we please head back now? I'm kind of hungry"

No matter how she pried, Galina couldn't get him to admit why he looked upset earlier. Aldaric was refusing to look her in the eyes and only talked about wanting to eat lunch. Making no progress, she gave up for the time being and grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and the two made their way back to the cottage.

* * *

Expectedly, the sound of footsteps was heard quickly making their way to where Galina was. The door flew open to reveal Levi with a stern look on his face. Galina quickly bowed her head and apologized for knocking the lamp off of his desk as she picked up the broken glass.

"Are you kidding me?"

She said nothing as she wrapped the broken shards in a dirty rag and grabbed a new one to clean the oil spilled from the lamp. A heavy sigh was heard behind her. "Enough"

Levi grabbed Galina's arm and pulled her to her feet and away from the mess. Much quicker than she could comprehend, the Captain cleaned and polished the floor leaving no trace of oil. After another examination, he also delicately pulled out any smaller pieces of glass that Galina most likely missed. Once he was done, he put away all of the cleaning supplies she had brought with her and moved them to a corner of the room.

"Sit" He ordered as he pulled out the chair from his desk. Galina did as she was told and quietly sat, still not looking up at Levi. "This is the fourth time this week that you've broken something while cleaning. What's wrong with you" It wasn't so much a question as it was a demand.

Galina felt her lip quivering as she thought of how to explain what was going on. Her body began shaking as she tried to keep calm. Despite her expectations, Levi did not push her to answer quickly. He merely stood in front of her waiting for an answer.

"Breathe" he ordered in a stern but soft tone.

Taking his advice, Galina closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking. "Aldaric… he…"

* * *

" _Please Gal…" Aldaric sat on his bed, looking shameful and broken as he reached out towards her. "Give them back…"_

 _Feeling terror deep in her heart, Galina clutched the pill bottle tightly to her chest and backed away from Aldaric while shaking her head repeatedly._

" _I can't live like this any longer… It'll only be easier for you this way. So please…"_

" _N-no…" Tears blurred her vision as Galina watched Aldaric cover his face with his hand and fall back into bed with a sigh._

" _I thought you were coming home late today…"_

" _Aldaric why? I-I know that all this happened because of me. And I'm so sorry, but I'm doing my best to take care of you! Is it not enough? I'll do whatever else I can just please don't-!"_

" _That's not it Gal! You don't understand! You'll never understand!"_

 _Galina shrunk away from him. The only other time she'd heard Aldaric raise his voice was against Artur, or when they were outside of the walls. But it was different this time, his voice was broken and full of despair._

" _Just… I swear I won't do it again, just please leave me alone…" Aldaric uttered these words so quietly that Galina might not have been able to hear it over the pounding of her own heart._

 _Crestfallen, Galina gathered her thoughts and headed towards the door. "...Make sure you eat your food on the nightstand…"_

* * *

By the time that she finished her story, Galina's cheeks felt wet with tears and she buried her face in her hands. Levi had no initial response to what she'd just revealed to him. He merely leaned against his desk next to her.

"What do I do Captain…?"

"Hm" Levi put a hand on his chin as he pondered the situation.

Galina took a few more deep breaths as she wiped her face. She felt anxious as she waited for his response. She's not sure what she expected exactly, but she was surprised by his answer.

"Go home"

"What?"

"I relieve you of your duties for the rest of the day. Go home and take care of him. Don't let him go to sleep either, keep him up and talk to him. Got it?"

Levi held a hand out for Galina to pull her up from the chair. He looked directly in her eyes as he gave his orders. She was a bit perplexed however. She was expecting advice but this was more like being instructed. But the way Levi spoke, he had such conviction in his voice. Even while looking at her, it didn't feel as if he was focused solely on her. Unable to find any words to respond with, Galina simply nodded her head before she saluted her superior and dashed out of Levi's room.

* * *

"Thanks for the meal…" Aldaric mumbled as he began wheeling away from the table. Despite his thanks, he hardly touched his vegetables.

"Please don't go" Galina said, rising up from her seat and running to block Aldaric's path. "You know, it's hard for me to help you in and out of bed. Can we at least talk a bit before you go to sleep?" She tried to keep her tone light hearted, but she could feel her eyebrows were still furrowed with concern.

Her friend tilted his head to look in her general direction but avoided eye contact. "I don't want to talk"

"Aldaric please, I want to help. I want to understand!" She knelt down besides his wheelchair, putting her hands on his forearm and trying to make him look at her. But no matter what she did or said, he refused to acknowledge her or say anymore.

Just as the silence became more unbearable, there was a knock on the door. Looking outside of the window, Galina saw the moon. She didn't realize how late it had become. It took her ages to convince Aldaric to come out for a fresh hot meal since he didn't eat the food she'd left for him. She didn't even notice the only light source was from the oil lantern. Aldaric caught her attention and motioned that he would be waiting in his bedroom while she answered the door. Before she could protest, the visitor at the door knocked once more, louder this time. Using this as his chance, Aldaric began wheeling away. Galina sighed as she ran to open the door.

"Yes-Captain!" Galina exclaimed in surprise as she stared wide-mouthed at Levi. In the back of the cottage, she could hear Aldaric's wheels scrape against the floor as he stopped moving.

He uttered a small greeting before motioning to be invited inside. Galina stepped aside as he walked into their small home. "Where is he?"

* * *

"With all due respect Sir, this doesn't involve you" Aldaric muttered as he sat in his bed, looking out of the window.

"Actually it does involve me if you're working in the military" Levi sat facing Aldaric's bed on a chair that Galina had brought for him. "Have you even thought this through?"

"I don't know what you're talking about"

The two argued in circles for a few moments as Galina watched from the doorway. She felt scared to go in, but she didn't know why. Eventually, Levi cut to the chase and brought up the attempted suicide directly.

"So Gal told you about that too huh? Hm, well I'm glad she has someone she can trust so much" The tone in Aldaric's voice was one of spite and loathing.

Levi ignored his last comment. "What do you think will happen after you're gone?"

"Life becomes easier for everyone, what else?" Galina felt her chest tighten at Aldadric's words. Losing him wouldn't make anything easier.

"Easier huh? I guess you're right. It also makes it easier for Artur to be freed"

Both Aldaric and Galina snapped into extreme focus at the mention of his name. Overcoming her fear, she stepped into the room. "What do you mean Captain? Why would Artur get freed?"

"He's only under the 24/7 watch in order to make money to compensate you two, but Aldaric in particular for his disability at the hands of his assault. If you were to die, his sentence would end and he'd be set free" Levi put his hands together and leaned forward in his chair, carefully observing Aldaric's reaction.

"No…" Aldaric no longer looked hollow but more angry and torn than anything else. He ran his hands through his wavy hair as he groaned in frustration.

Galina felt her stomach churn. She didn't want Aldaric to die, but she also didn't want him to keep living if it meant basically blackmailing him with the threat of a maniac being let loose. The room fell silent as she and Aldaric took time to process what they'd just been told. After waiting for a few seconds, Levi decided they had enough time.

"The best course of action now would be to appoint a next of kin. That way if you choose to go through with it, Artur would still have to serve out his sentence. It would just mean that whatever money he makes would automatically go to the next one in line"

"What?!" For once, Galina felt something she never had before. Anger towards Levi. She walked towards the men and stood in front of Aldaric's bed, as if she could shield him from Levi.

"Sir?" Aldaric looked surprised at the Captain.

"It's not my place to tell you what to do. You may think your situation is unique, but the sad truth is that it's not. Surviving an ordeal but only to come out crippled. I can only imagine what different kind of suffering you must be enduring on the daily. I've seen it in other soldiers in the past. Those who make it home but can never go back to their old lives. And I've seen it in those suffering where I lived in the Underground City"

"You? But… wait a second I-"

"You're in your 40's right?" Levi didn't bother this time as Aldaric and Galina tried to process that their Captain had lived where they used to. "And you, you're in your 20's? That's a good age range. You could adopt her as your step-daughter and assign her as your next of kin. Then if you choose to end your life, you'd at least be assuring she has an easier one from then on"

"Captain I can't believe you're saying this!" Galina tried to protest this plan of action but again, Levi paid her no attention.

"The only thing is that getting this sort of paperwork approved could take a while. A couple of months at most. So if you want to do this, you should get on it quick. I'm not telling you to keep living or to end your life, I'm just giving you options"

And with that, Levi stood up from his chair and exited the room. Aldaric kept his head down, still shocked into silence at what just occurred. Meanwhile Galina chased after Levi to the front door. She wanted to yell at him for not telling Aldaric to stop this nonsense, but she couldn't because she knew that there was some truth to Levi's words. Just as she caught up to him at the front door, Levi turned to address her in a hushed but serious tone.

"If he decides to go through with this, that doesn't mean it's the worst case scenario. You'll have about two months to convince him otherwise. If he chooses not to, then you two can continue on with your lives"

Galina wanted to counter with 'But what if'. She wanted to hear Levi say what would happen if Aldaric chose the other option.

"Until then, just keep doing what you've been doing. Staying by his side helps more than you'd think" Levi put his hand on Galina's shoulder as he said this, prompting her to look at him.

He was always hard to read. Looking into his eyes, she could pick out pain, grief, and pity. What had he experienced to be able to accept such a cruel reality without losing face? Galina nodded and thanked him for coming out of his way to visit them. She bid Levi a goodnight before closing the door and breathing a huge sigh. Whether it was from relief or stress, she couldn't tell.

Taking a moment to compose herself, Galina reentered Aldaric's room. Wanting to keep herself busy, she moved the chair she brought back where it belonged and tried to tidy up around the room. It was hard to clean if there was nothing **to** clean however. Aldaric was the first to speak up.

"Gal, I'm going to do it" She stiffened up, but continued to aimlessly walk around his room."He's right. It is the best way. There won't be any worry of having to deal with Artur after I'm gone and you'll get the compensation every month."

"Do you think I care about that?!" Galina couldn't her voice from rising. Aldaric spoke so eager and determined. It felt like years since she last heard this tone in his voice, but knowing what he wanted to accomplish. Hearing him speak so excitedly about ending his life was enough to break her. "I don't care about the money. I don't care if that bastard gets released. I just want you to live!"

She screamed the things she'd been wanting to say this whole time. Instead of being surprised, Aldaric only looked at her with a saddened expression.

"Gal… I'm in pain every day I wake up. I can't do anything for myself. I can't walk, cook, or clean. I can't even help you take care of a small burn. This isn't living. Please let me do this. This would only help me!"

Once again, Galina felt her body shaking, She didn't want to lose another friend. She so desperately wanted him to live. She wanted him to see the positives in life. But if he was truly only suffering, who was she to deny him his wish? Could she be selfish and refuse him, do everything in her power to keep him alive? Or should she comply and help her friend? As these thoughts swirled around like a storm of confusion, Levi's voice echoed in her mind.

" _If he decides to go through with this, that doesn't mean it's the worst case scenario."_

That's right, it was just the first step in the long run. Getting paperwork filed to arrange the next of kin would give her two months to try and convince Aldaric otherwise. And in the meantime, seeing what kind of mental state he's in, saying "no" might only get a worse outcome.

Galina shut her eyes tightly as she took a deep breath before turning to look at Aldaric, who eagerly waited for her answer.

"Okay, I'll help you"


End file.
